A Year Later in Ferguson- It’s Still Shoot First?

I woke up this morning, and like every other, looked at my email. One of the first things I read this morning was a Washington Post news update saying a man had been shot over night in Ferguson, Missouri by the police during protests marking the anniversary of the Michael Brown killing. Needless to say it was a disturbing start to the day.

One of the most powerful aspects of the events in Ferguson last Summer were the pictures that came out of the St. Louis area community. The images of cops in tanks, moving in on protestors, and protestors throwing back explosives fired at them. The images had to make you think, had to make you consider if this is what we want in America. Do we want militarized police confronting people who are protesting only because they want their lives valued? It felt to me like people didn’t want this.

A year later though, apparently the cops shot a protestor over night, which begs the question- did anything get better, did anything change? At least at first glance this morning, the answer is no.